Racism has significant negative impacts on the mental health and educational outcomes of racially minoritized students (Priest et al, 2013). For example, a recent systematic review identified the impacts of racism on Aboriginal students as ‘school withdrawal, deidentifying as Indigenous, emotional distress and internalisation of negative beliefs’ (Moodie et al, 2019). However, schools struggle to identify and respond to racism, and teachers have limited training and knowledge of how to undertake educative work to prevent racism in their classrooms and schools (Forrest et al, 2016).

Schools have been identified as places where young people are most likely to experience racism. Racism in schools includes things such as derogatory comments, unfair treatment, bullying, and racially unequal school discipline. Experiences of racism in school contribute to poor mental health outcomes, disengagement from school, and early school leaving, compounding economic and social exclusion.

There is growing recognition of the need to prevent and respond to racism within schools, reflected in the appointment of officers responsible for racism in some departments. However, evidence of effective strategies that can guide schools and policy makers is still lacking in Australia. Schools lack models and evidence to support the development of a comprehensive approach to the problem of racism. South Australia currently has no state level anti-racism policy or guidelines for schools.